In his presentation Urban Wråkberg addresses our understanding of geographical borders, borders of the mind, and practices in crossing them. He starts with Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s emphasis on the importance of the observing subject over older philosophical ideas of the registering and reactive ‘pure’ mind. He combines this with Jean Baudrillard’s concept of hyperrealities and simulacra to attempt an explanation of the re-enactments of collectively held cultural patterns – and even fiction or drama – during travels. The examples he uses are from the Russian–Norwegian borderland.